


Space Vampires

by thenakednymph



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Awkwardness, Can you tell I've given up on summaries?, First Kiss, I'm Sorry, M/M, Mild Language, there's so much kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-12
Updated: 2018-10-12
Packaged: 2019-08-01 04:12:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16277561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thenakednymph/pseuds/thenakednymph
Summary: It's exactly what it says. Lance encounters space vampires, no one believes him, he gets hurt and Keith makes him a promise. There is lots of kissing.





	Space Vampires

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know what this is or anything about writing endings with closure. But there's kissing.
> 
> This is barely coherent and hardly edited. If you find any errors please beat me over the head with them.
> 
> I don't know of this is even finished. Enjoy anyway.

“... vampires...space vampires…” Lance's voice crackles over the comm.   
  
“Lance, stop screwing around,” Keith admonishes as he finishes clearing his third empty hallway. There's a burst of static in his ear and he winces. Their comms have been on the fritz since they landed. Pidge said it had something to do with the structure of the abandoned castle and they'd proceeded with caution. An hour later they'd found nothing. The castle was completely empty.   
  
Keith sighs and turns around, going back the way they’d come. “Guys, there's nothing here. The castle’s dead.”   
  
He hears what he thinks might be Pidge's voice in the static but can't make out what they're saying.   
  
“Say again Pidge, I didn't catch that.”   
  
More static. Keith sighs and heads back to where they landed, hoping they can just communicate in person.   
  
Everyone else must have the same idea. When he gets to their lions everyone is waiting for him except for Lance.   
  
Shiro frowns, tapping at his comm. “Lance? Can you hear me?” It's strange hearing Shiro’s voice in his ear and through his helmet.   
  
There's a stretch of silence before Lance's voice comes through.   
  
“Little busy,” he grinds out and there's a blast of gunfire.   
  
They all share a look of confusion.   
  
“Lance?”   
  
Keith grinds his teeth. “Stop screwing around so we can get out of here.” Tension is building among the paladins like a current and Keith's voice comes out angry when he's more worried than anything. Had they missed something?   
  
There's a pained shout and more gunfire. Another burst of static. “-bit me!”   
  
“Lance!” Pidge's voice pitches high with concern.   
  
“What's happening?” Hunk asks beginning to fidget.   
  
“...told you!” he shouts back at them. “...vampires! ...no one...listen to me?”   
  
Keith is running back into the castle before Lance has finished talking.   
  
~   
  
Lance can feel the impacts as nails slash across his suit, the edges as sharp as Keith's luxite blade. The vampires are fast and he's having trouble keeping enough distance between them and himself.   
  
He doesn't realize he's bleeding until he slips.   
  
“-you hear me?” Shiro asks.   
  
“Little busy,” he snaps, spraying suppressing fire at the vampires as they crowd him down the hall. He catches two in the chest but only manages to down one of them. They’re strong.   
  
The chattering and the static in his ears is a distraction and he slips in the blood again, losing his balance. He goes down hard on one knee and winces but manages to stay upright, feeling the bruise forming.   
  
One of the vampires takes the opportunity to dart around behind him. They grapple briefly before it manages to crane his head to the side and Lance feels his neck pop as sharp teeth sink into the juncture of his neck and shoulder.   
  
He shouts, driving his elbow up and back, forcing the creature off. Between his helmet and armor there isn't much space for the creature to latch on and it's the only reason it didn't manage to tear out his throat.   
  
“Fucker bit me!” he shouts, affronted and afraid. He squeezes the trigger of his bayard and there's a spray of blood as a hole opens in the creature’s chest.   
  
He hears the sharp worry in Pidge's voice, Hunk’s question of what's happening and frustration builds in his chest. Another vampire grabs him from behind, yanking him back, claws racking over his arms and he lets out another shout, more in surprise than pain. He knows he's hurt but he can't feel it. He twists blindly in the creature's grip, hands slick over his bayard.   
  
He manages a brief moment of respite, enough to catch his breath and shout into the comms. “I told you! Fucking space vampires!” He downs the last one just as three more come running around the corner. “Why does no one ever listen to me?” His hands are beginning to go numb and he feels a brief flicker of fear before they're on him.   
  
~   
  
Keith descends into the lower levels where Lance was supposed to be exploring and finds a series of bodies. There's black blood splattered all across the floor and walls and he follows the trail, heart in his throat.   
  
The silence is terrifying. There should be gunfire, shouts, the sounds of combat, anything. But there's nothing. Only the silence. He can barely think through the pounding of his pulse sounding in his ears.   
  
“Lance?”   
  
There's no response and Keith feels a solid weight settle on his chest. He hopes it's just the comms acting up, prays that's all it is. “Please,” he whispers but there's no one to answer him.   
  
It's another several minutes before he comes across a clutter of bodies littering the hallway. His eyes frantically scan the array of bodies looking for a flash of blue and white amid the chaos. Cold sweat breaks out under his armor as his sees splashes and puddles of bright red blood mixing in with the black. There's too much and icy fear sinks into his lungs.   
  
“Lance!”   
  
He charges down the length of the hall, hurling himself around the corner and nearly trips over Lance. He can barely breathe at the sight of him.   
  
Lance is painted in so much blood he matches Keith's lion and terror seizes Keith at the sight. There's a glazed look in his eyes and he's teetering dangerously, bayard loose in his hands but it's levelled at Keith's heart.   
  
The moment he processes it's Keith his arms go slack and he sags. Keith can hear the wet patter of blood against the ground as Lance smiles.   
  
“Hey,” he rasps, body tipping forward. Keith drops his knife to catch him, Lance's weight nearly knocking them both over. Their helmets clack sharply together and when their eyes meet Keith knows something is wrong.   
  
Lance is breathing heavily and his face is ashen, skin dappled with sweat.   
  
“How much blood have you lost?”   
  
Lance closes his eyes and smiles again, lashes curling against his cheeks. He sways heavily again, forehead falling to Keith's shoulder.   
  
“You know I'm in love with you right?” Lance goes limp against him and Keith's hands scrabble against his armor, trying to keep him upright but he can't get a grip on him.   
  
Keith checks to make sure he's still breathing before dragging Lance's body over his shoulders, putting his bayard away, and moving as fast as he can back to the others. He tries to ignore the wet tickle that's slowly making its way down the back of his neck and under his suit and the little rivulets of blood that begin to tangle across his armor like little red threads.   
  
He goes as fast as he can.   
  
~   
  
Keith doesn't confront Lance about what happened until after he's out of the pod and lying in the Altean version of a hospital bed, the others having split off after making sure Lance was alright. Coran had pumped him full of some kind of liquid that that supposed to replace the blood he'd lost without requiring a transfusion. He'd been horrified by the suggestion when they'd explained what it was and called it a barbaric practice. The others had seemed a little miffed but Keith understood how odd it must seem from an outside perspective and had to agree with him.   
  
Keith runs the edge of a nail into the pad of his thumb, shifting in the chair anxiously over the next hour as Lance sleeps. He doesn't want to wake him, doesn't want to have this conversation but knows it can't be avoided. So he sits in silence, too uncomfortable to leave, too anxious to wake Lance. He wants answers. So he sits and chews on his lip in silence, knee bouncing in a habit that's far more Lance-like than he wants to think about.   
  
“Hey.” Keith jerks at the sound of Lance's voice, low and gravelled with sleep and his stomach flips at the sound. That should not be attractive.   
  
“Hey.”   
  
Lance blinks sleepily at him, rubbing at his eyes before wincing and looking down at his arms. There are a series of half-formed scars lacing the exposed skin of his arms and Keith watches as Lance process what's happened. A smile slowly splits his face.   
  
“I'm not dead.”   
  
Keith scoffs, worry souring in his stomach. “Barely. Why didn't you tell us you needed help?”   
  
Lance huffs, his brows drawing down. “I did.” He crosses his arms over his chest and sulks, a flicker of real anger in his eyes. “Space vampires remember?”   
  
Keith's eyes dart to the ring of puncture marks that now adorn Lance's neck and he flushes, fingers curling in his lap with guilt. If he'd just believed Lance, just taken what he'd said seriously instead of telling him to stop screwing around maybe he could have gotten there sooner. Maybe none of this would have happened.   
  
He ducks his head, hiding behind his bangs. “I owe you an apology.”   
  
“Oh ho! That's a first!” Lance's voice lilts teasingly in a way that promises he'll never let Keith live it down. If he weren't so angry with himself maybe he'd rise to the bait. As it is he feels like he nearly got Lance killed. If a little good natured ribbing is all he has to suffer for it he thinks he can take it.   
  
“I should have listened to you.”   
  
He peeks up at Lance through his hair and watches him open his mouth, a smug look on his face before his expression turns thoughtful. He sits in silence sensing the weight of the words Keith wants to say pressing against the back of his teeth.   
  
“I should have believed you.” He forces himself to lift his head and meet Lance's gaze head on. “I nearly got you killed.”   
  
Lance studies Keith with more intensity than he's used to and he nearly curls away from it, instead forcing himself to grit his teeth and sit still.   
  
“Why didn't you?” His voice is more serious than he's ever heard it, more vulnerable, but he goes on before Keith can say anything. “Look, I know I'm basically the class clown but I don't screw around with the important stuff okay? I'm not-” He fiddles with the edge of the sheet nervously. “I take being here very seriously. Besides, how else would you have described them?” There's a small spark of humor in his voice again. Keith has to admit 'space vampires’ was an apt description.   
  
“I don't think I've ever given you enough credit,” Keith admits and Lance nods, but it's a thoughtful expression.   
  
“I'm not as stupid as I pretend to be,” he admits, voice soft, a weight to his gaze Keith hadn't expected.   
  
He furrows his eyebrows. “But if you want everyone to take you seriously why pretend at all?” Keith stares at Lance like he's a puzzle he can't solve. “I don't understand.”   
  
A smile tugs at Lance's mouth. “Because otherwise none of you would laugh. And trust me, laughter is important.” He waggles a finger at Keith. “It was easy to get depressed and anxious at the Garrison where everything was familiar and there were people we loved nearby, let alone out here.” He gestures grandly, wincing again as his wounds pull. “Out here we've got nothing but each other.   
  
“We're a bunch of teenagers fighting in a ten thousand year old war living under the weight of knowing we could die every day. I think a little stupidity and laughter is necessary don't you?”   
  
Keith had never thought of it that way but thinking about it now, it makes sense. He nods slowly, turning his fingers around one another.   
  
“I'd like to make you a promise.”   
  
Lance raises his eyebrows. “Careful,” he warns, “promises are sacred in the McClain household. Don't make one you can't keep.” His voice goes all serious again and Keith knows he means it.   
  
“I'm not. But I want you to understand that when I say this I mean it.” He takes a deep breath. “I promise that from now on, when you tell me something, I'll believe you.” He looks up at Lance from under his eyelashes.   
  
A wicked glint flickers in Lance's eyes and he leans forward. “Even if it's crazy and absurd?”   
  
Keith frowns. “Don't abuse it Lance, because I mean it. You could tell me Pidge is a killer robot and I needed to go behead them for the sake of the universe and all our lives.”   
  
There's something weighted to Lance's gaze as he stares at Keith. “And you would do it?” he asks, voice oddly breathless.   
  
Keith nods, raising his head and holding Lance's gaze. “Yes. I owe you that. Especially after today.”   
  
Lance doesn't seem to know what to do with that, just sits, twisting the words around in his head and studying Keith. Like there's an answer for whatever it is he's seeking in Keith's face.   
  
Keith's heart races in his chest as he tries to bring up the other thing that's been on his mind.   
  
His courage falters and he ducks his head, scratching at a seam on his jeans.   
  
“Exactly how much do you remember from when I found you?”   
  
Lance shrugs one shoulder. “Bits and pieces.” He waves his hand dismissively. “It's all kind of a blur.”   
  
Keith bites the inside of his cheek, flushing. “You remember telling me you love me and passing out in my arms?” It comes out in a whisper.   
  
Lance blushes to his hairline, his heart skipping, sweat breaking out across his skin in a hot flush. “Oh I was really hoping that one was a dream.” His breathing goes shallow as he watches Keith who sits and fidgets next to him. “You weren't supposed to know,” he admits. “I never- I wasn't going to tell you.” He swipes a hand over his face, hiding behind it.   
  
“Why not?” Keith isn't sure if it sounds as offended as he thinks it does.   
  
Lance laughs. “I'm not exactly your type.” He grins, leaning back into his pillows but there's a tension and vulnerability behind it Keith is learning to read.   
  
“Pretty sure if I had a type it would be you,” Keith says softly and his cheeks are hot. He clears his throat and looks Lance in the eye again. “So the only reason you weren't planning on telling me was because you didn't think I was interested?”   
  
Lance scoffs, his legs shifting under the sheet like he's trying to hide behind them. “Dude we're rivals, you don't exactly go around kissing someone you're competing with.”   
  
“You do know you're the one that started that right? I don't-” His mouth works in frustration. He doesn't know why they fight like they do. Doesn't want that. So he tells him as much. “I never wanted that.” He frowns, hands turning into fidget in his lap. “But you make it really hard to get close to you.”   
  
Lance's head tips to the side and he smiles, cheeks still red, his eyes sad. “Yeah well, I never did know how to flirt with pretty boys.”   
  
Keith flushes, warming with embarrassed pleasure at the compliment.   
  
Lance groans and flops back into the bed, covering his face with his hands. “God, there you go again,” he groans. He half lifts his head to scowl at Keith. “How am I supposed to do anything when you're that fucking pretty?”   
  
His head smacks into the pillow and he lets out a frustrated noise behind his hands. “Hard to focus when you pout,” he mutters, lifting his head. “All I can think about is how much I want to kiss it off you.” He means it to be teasing, to put distance between them but there's a flicker in Keith's eyes that feels like interest and Lance's stomach swoops.   
  
“I'm not-good at this.” Keith stumbles over the words, making them awkward and stilted. His fingers are twisting themselves together in knots in his lap. “I don't understand people. I don't get along with them.” He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “People are complicated and I don't want to mess this up.”   
  
“So be direct.” Lance says it like it's easy, like his heart isn't trying to beat it's way out of his throat. “Tell me what you want. Here, I'll go first.” He sits up, leaning towards Keith, voice soft but determined and honest. “I really want to kiss you.” His gaze is steady but his voice waivers. “And I'm really scared to tell you how into you I am because I think you're way out of my league.” His eyes dart back and forth between Keith's. “I pick fights with you because I have no idea how to flirt with you. Least of all in a way you'll respond positively too.” He smiles coyly. “And because you're beautiful when you're angry. And it's better than no response at all.”   
  
Keith wants to curl into his chair and die. He’s never been the center of anyone's attention before, especially not like this. This is intense and all-encompassing and so damn soft. It's embarrassing.   
  
“I've never kissed anyone before,” he admits, through tightness in his throat strangling to words. Keith is mortified a moment later and glares at the floor.   
  
“Do you want to?” Lance's head is tipped curiously to the side.   
  
Keith glances up at him, heart pounding in his chest. He's never wanted anything more. His palms are sweating.   
  
His voice is weak with want. “Yes.”   
  
“Do you want to kiss me?”   
  
Keith glares, his face flushing again. “I swear if you're making fun of me,” he warns.   
  
Lance immediately backtracks, shaking his head. “I'm not, I swear I'm not. But I really don't like the idea of kissing you without your consent. I'm just making sure.” His head tips to the side again. “You're a little hard to read.”   
  
Keith grinds his teeth, utterly mortified and grinds out, hands gripping his jeans tight. “Yes, I would like to kiss you.”   
  
Lance grins and leans out of the bed, snatching the armrests of Keith's chair, giving a sharp tug and dragging him forward.   
  
Keith gasps shallowly and sinks deeper into the chair and away from Lance in surprise. Judging by Lance's expression he hears the hitch in Keith's breathing. He searches Keith's eyes for a moment before leaning so far out of the bed and into Keith's space Keith is afraid he'll fall.   
  
Lance brushes their noses together, giving Keith a moment to change his mind, to pull away. When he doesn't Lance presses a slow, careful kiss to his mouth.   
  
Keith doesn't respond but Lance doesn't seem to mind. His lips are warm and soft and Keith feels something inside him slacken at the feel of Lance's mouth against his. He knows it's awkward but he doesn't know what to do. Lance pulls back but doesn't go far, his breath ghosting against Keith's skin.   
  
“Was that okay?” Lance asks and Keith nods, still too caught up in a torrent of emotion and sensation to say anything. He swallows thickly lips parting as he pulls a shallow breath. “Can I do it again?”   
  
Keith nods and Lance kisses him again, his lips pulling gently at Keith's, coaxing, and Keith is still terribly self-conscious but finds himself tipping his head up, drawing a deep breath through his nose as he kisses Lance back, tentative and shy.   
  
Lance is gentle and slow, lets Keith adjust to kissing and being kissed, his hand floating up to rest briefly against his jaw. When he pulls away it takes Keith a moment to open his eyes. He looks dazed and something warms low in Lance's belly. He strokes a thumb over Keith's cheek, his weight balanced precariously between his bed and the chair.   
  
“You can touch me you know.”   
  
Keith glances down at where his hands are curled tightly in his jeans, his knuckles white.   
  
“Oh.” He blinks dumbly before looking up at Lance. “I don't know where to put them.” It feels stupid saying it but it's true.   
  
“Well,” Lance says slowly, a smile curling across his lips. “I like it when someone puts their fingers in my hair while we're kissing, or the back of my neck,” he suggests.   
  
Something sly curls in the corner of Keith's mouth and he finds he's sitting up in the chair, leaning in to Lance. “Show me?”   
  
Lance does and Keith realizes he likes the feeling of Lance leaning over him. He lifts his chin up into the kiss almost immediately as Lance braces one hand on the armrests, the other running through Keith's hair and wow, Lance was right, that does feel amazing.   
  
He can feel the arm bearing Lance's weight begin to shake and reaches to hold him on reflex, one hand going to Lance's waist, the other to his shoulder and Lance gasps into Keith's mouth and wow, that's new. He sinks his teeth gently into Lance's lower lip and the gasp turns into a throaty groan that has Lance pressing closer into him in a way that has Keith rising to meet him.     
  
“Please just get in the bed so I can keep kissing you,” Lance gasps, breaking the kiss as his arm shakes and Keith does, lying down and stretching out beside him.   
  
Lance rolls so he's laying on his side still hovering over Keith and bites his lower lip the same way Keith had just doesn't to him. He licks his way into Keith's mouth and Keith feels a sharp thrill at the sensation, his fingers curling into Lance's shirt, drawing him closer. His other hand slides around Lance's waist and up his spine to press between his shoulder blades, trying to draw him down.   
  
Lance braces one hand beside Keith's head to hold his weight, sliding his tongue along Keith's, tasting him the way he's dreamed of for years, his heart racing. The sensation leaves him weak and he has to pull away, cheek resting against Keith's for a moment to catch his breath. The adrenaline has left him jittery.   
  
Keith hasn't let go of him. “Are you alright?” His breath ghosts against Lance's ear and he groans, shivering against him, his weight settling a little more firmly into Keith just the way he wants.   
  
Keith's hand strokes up and down Lance's spine and Lance savors the warmth of Keith's skin through the fabric, leaning into the touch.   
  
“You have no idea what you do to me,” Lance whispers and he sounds so damn weak. He pulls away just enough to meet Keith's eyes, tucking a stray lock of hair behind Keith's ear. The image of a flushed Keith beneath him, dark hair splayed out across the pillow is one Lance will never forget. He hopes it's the first of many.   
  
“I'd really like you to kiss me again,” Keith rasps and gods the things that does to Lance.   
  
He's trembling in Keith's arms and he closes his eyes. “If I keep kissing you this is going to go a lot faster than I think you're ready for,” he admits, his cheeks red. It's a little more honest than he wanted to be but it's the truth.   
  
Keith pouts, his fingers playing over the knobs of Lance's spine and Lance can't take it. He kisses the expression off of Keith the way he'd threatened to before, using one hand to cup the side of Keith's jaw, his thumb pressing under Keith's chin to tilt his head up so he can deepen the kiss. He let's raw want and heat pour into the kiss and Keith arches into him, his grip in Lance's shirt tightening and Lance knows he's made a mistake.   
  
He pulls back with a gasp, putting his hand to Keith's chest to keep him from following and draws a shaky breath that doesn't seem to do him any good. He still feels like he's drowning.   
  
“Okay,” he breathes, trying to think past the adrenaline and arousal. Keith makes a noise of protest beneath him and Lance almost loses all self-control he has left. He kisses Keith's forehead and lays down next to him, drawing shaky breaths. “Next time,” he promises. “I'm not gonna lie, I still feel pretty weak and I'm beginning to hurt again.” Keith aquiescesses but he doesn't look happy about it. His face is delightfully flushed and Lance wants to run his tongue over the heated skin of Keith's throat. He decides blushing is a good look for him.   
  
To his surprise Keith doesn't get out of the bed when Lance lays down, just turns his head to follow, shifting his body on the bed to accommodate them both.   
  
“You scared me you know?” Keith says, his eyes searching. “Do you have idea what you looked like when I found you?”   
  
“Judging by the new scars I'm sporting I have some idea,” Lance says wryly. “It was weird not being able to feel it though. I knew I was bleeding, I could see it, could watch the wounds gape and open when I moved but I couldn't feel a damn thing.” He says it like it's an afterthought but it leaves Keith cold.   
  
“I had nightmares about it while you were in the pod.” Keith ducks his head, somehow more embarrassed about that confession than anything else.   
  
“Couldn't stand the thought of never seeing me again?” Lance teases, reaching out to run a finger over Keith's cheek.   
  
“No.” The sincere honesty in Keith's voice throws him and his hand stills, palm flattening against Keith's cheek.   
  
“I'm sorry. I know that would have terrified me. Seeing any one of you guys hurt is my worst nightmare. I can't imagine what that must have been like for you.”   
  
Keith shrugs, eyes on Lance. “You're okay though,” he says like that's supposed to make it okay.   
  
“Doesn't mean it wasn't scary.”   
  
Keith wants to reach out and touch Lance so he does, brushes the back of a knuckle against his cheek.   
  
“Scared the hell out of me,” he whispers and Lance breaks his own promise, kissing Keith until he forgets.


End file.
